faithfl

Hear Oh Israel, the LORD is our God, the LORD is one!

The Sh’ma (”Hear!”) is called the cornerstone of the Jewish faith and is relevant to Christians as well. It comes from three sections from the Torah (Old Testament). The Sh’ma has been described as the “first and greatest commandment.” Mark 12:28-30

Deuteronomy 6:4-9
Hear ,Oh Israel: The Lord is our God; The Lord is one: 5 and you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might. 6 These words, which I command you this day, shall be on your heart; 7 and you shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise up. 8 You shall bind them for a sign on your hand, and they shall be for symbols between your eyes. 9 You shall write them on the door posts of your house, and on your gates.

Deuteronomy 11:13
It shall happen, if you shall listen diligently to my commandments which I command you this day, to love the Lord your God, and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul, 14 that I will give the rain of your land in its season, the former rain and the latter rain, that you may gather in your grain, and your new wine, and your oil. 15 I will give grass in your fields for your livestock, and you shall eat and be full. 16 Take heed to yourselves, lest your heart be deceived, and you turn aside, and serve other gods, and worship them; 17 and the anger of the Lord be kindled against you, and he shut up the sky, so that there shall be no rain, and the land shall not yield its fruit; and you perish quickly from off the good land which the Lord gives you. 18 Therefore you shall lay up these my words in your heart and in your soul; and you shall bind them for a sign on your hand, and they shall be for symbols between your eyes. 19 You shall teach them your children, talking of them, when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise up. 20 You shall write them on the door posts of your house, and on your gates; 21 that your days may be multiplied, and the days of your children, in the land which the Lord swore to your fathers to give them, as the days of the heavens above the earth. 22 For if you shall diligently keep all this commandment which I command you, to do it, to love the Lord your God, to walk in all his ways, and to cling to him; 23 then will the Lord drive out all these nations from before you, and you shall dispossess nations greater and mightier than yourselves.

Numbers 15:37
The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 38 “Speak to the children of Israel, and tell them that they should make themselves fringes in the borders of their garments throughout their generations, and that they put on the fringe of each border a cord of blue: 39 and it shall be to you for a fringe, that you may look on it, and remember all the commandments of the Lord, and do them; and that you not follow after your own heart and your own eyes, after which you use to play the prostitute; 40 that you may remember and do all my commandments, and be holy to your God. 41 I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, to be your God: I am the Lord your God.”

Source: World English Bible (ebible.org) | * Mishnah Berokhot (Blessings) 11:2

This entry was posted on Saturday, September 15th, 2007 at 9:00 am and is filed under Prayer. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.